In order to understand and appreciate Chicano theatre, one must understand who exactly brought it to light. American playwright Luis Valdez ("the father of Chicano theatre") is responsible for bringing more Chicano-inspired work onto the stage than any other playwright before him. In 1965, he joined labor leader Cesar Chavez's mission in Delano, California. He would soon recruit farm workers involved in the strike. They would soon become part of the group El Teatro Campesino (the Farm Workers' Theatre). From there, Valdez and his actors would perform works that were suing politically oriented improvisational theatre so as to underscore the migrant workers cause. These actos were skits that provided political and social commentary on the causes that these farm workers were standing up for. El Teatro Campesino would perform these actos all across California at farms, fields, college campuses, churches, theaters, and community halls in an effort to create needed change within their communities. Many tried to replicate Valdez's El Teatro Campesino, but none were ever as great.
The height of Valdez's influence came with his play Zoot Suit, based on the Sleepy Lagoon murder trial of August 2, 1942 and the Zoot Suit riots of June 1943. The show became a critical and commercial success on the west coast. The show was a new for Valdez in many respects. First, it was a play that used actors who weren't necessarily a part of the El Teatro Campesino company. He was beginning to beome involved with major regional theater, which helped to only expand Chicano theatre. This play also was not like one of his actos in the sense that it wasn't strictly concerning current events. However, like all his work previous, Zoot Suit highlighted the racial and social ills that had discriminated towards those from the barrios of Los Angeles. Nowhere is this more important than in the realization of El Pachuco. The cocky El Pachuco is confident and certain about what he believes in. He does not back down from a fight. However, he is also incredibly vulnerable. In the most dramatic scene of the play, El Pachuco is stripped by white serviceman, where he is reduced to nothing but a loincloth. This is an incredible parallel with how the Chicano in America must deal with unfair prejudices that surround him or her at all sides. However, after being attacked, El Pachuco gets up. "You may be able to knock us down, but we are strong and resilient". El Pachuco will return. Zoot Suit, like many of his other works, has Valdez telling us how incredible the Chicano person is and that acceptance is the only way to a tolerant society.
The height of Valdez's influence came with his play Zoot Suit, based on the Sleepy Lagoon murder trial of August 2, 1942 and the Zoot Suit riots of June 1943. The show became a critical and commercial success on the west coast. The show was a new for Valdez in many respects. First, it was a play that used actors who weren't necessarily a part of the El Teatro Campesino company. He was beginning to beome involved with major regional theater, which helped to only expand Chicano theatre. This play also was not like one of his actos in the sense that it wasn't strictly concerning current events. However, like all his work previous, Zoot Suit highlighted the racial and social ills that had discriminated towards those from the barrios of Los Angeles. Nowhere is this more important than in the realization of El Pachuco. The cocky El Pachuco is confident and certain about what he believes in. He does not back down from a fight. However, he is also incredibly vulnerable. In the most dramatic scene of the play, El Pachuco is stripped by white serviceman, where he is reduced to nothing but a loincloth. This is an incredible parallel with how the Chicano in America must deal with unfair prejudices that surround him or her at all sides. However, after being attacked, El Pachuco gets up. "You may be able to knock us down, but we are strong and resilient". El Pachuco will return. Zoot Suit, like many of his other works, has Valdez telling us how incredible the Chicano person is and that acceptance is the only way to a tolerant society.